Inspired By: Ghostsforge and others who asked for more of this series.
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Sunnydale, CA, October 13, 1997
Sitting in Principal's Snyder's office, Buffy could feel her heart racing, and her hands sweating. Here she was, the Slayer, who had faced numerous vampires, demons, and even the Master, intimidated by a short human with ears that stuck out like Mickey Mouse.
"A lot of educators tell students, 'Think of your principal as your pal'." The short human with Mickey Mouse ears was lecturing her and another girl named Shelia. "But I say, 'Think of me as your judge, jury, and executioner.' Tell me, who do you think is the most troublesome student in this school?"
Not sure if the question was rhetorical or not, Buffy glanced questioningly over at Shelia who only rolled her eyes and looked unconcerned.
Continuing his speech with barely a pause, Snyder had obviously not wanted an answer. "Well, it is quite a match between you two. On the one hand, Buffy hasn't stabbed a horticulture teacher with a trowel."
"I didn't stab anyone with a trowel." Shelia corrected. "They were pruning shears."
Snyder continued, pretending that Shelia had not spoken. "On the other hand, Sheila has never burned down a school building."
"That was never proven." Buffy spoke up in her defense. "The Fire Marshall said it could have been mice."
"Mice?" Snyder repeated with disbelief.
"Mice that were smoking." Buffy said weakly.
"The two of you seem to be tied in the class-cutting and fight-starting events. " Snyder looked away for a moment as he studied the two girls' files on his desk. "You really are neck and neck here. It's quite exciting."
"So what does the winner get?" Shelia asked grinning. Unlike Buffy, she was not feeling the least bit threatened by the Principal.
"Expelled." Snyder said happily, as he noted the shocked look on Buffy's face. "Thursday is Parent-Teacher night. Your parents, assuming you have any," he looked at Buffy, "will meet your teachers," he looked at Shelia, "assuming you have any left. I've decided to put the two of you in charge of this event. You have three days to prepare the refreshments, make the banners and transform the school lounge into a habitable place for adults. This will incur my good will. And may affect what I tell your parents when I meet them. Are we clear?"
"I'm clear." Buffy spoke up quickly with a nervous smile. "Don't you feel clear?" She asked Sheila, who only looked back at her with boredom. "We're very clear."
"Good." Snyder gave them both a stern look. "Because you mess up this time, and your parents will be coming to clean out your lockers."
**
Sitting in his small apartment, Angel was brooding, a now favorite past time of his since the gypsies had cursed him with a soul. Unfortunately it was hard to brood, when one had a talkative demon as a visitor.
"Angel, baby." Whistler said with his head stuck in the refrigerator. "Your food supply here is dismal." He complained as he pulled out a jar of pickles. "What do you feed your kid?"
"Well, I. . . ." Angel stammered a bit, as he shifted his attention to what Whistler was saying. "I plan to go shopping, but I'm waiting for William, since I'm not the best food shopper. It's been so long since I've eaten. . .food, and it was so different then."
"So William basically does his own shopping." Whistler mused half to himself, as he pulled the last pickle out. "You do make sure he eats healthy? Fruits, vegetables, whole grains. Not just fast food and junk, right?"
Shifting around in his chair, Angel had a slightly guilty look on his face. "I believe he gets a lunch at school, and I assumed they feed him a well-balanced meal there."
"Ri-ight." Whistler could only shake his head, as he poured the pickle juice down the drain. "High School cafeterias are not exactly loaded with healthy choices. William probably eats hostess twinkies, chips, pizza, and chicken fingers. . .don't tell me." He saw Angel twitch in surprise. "That's what he eats here at home."
"Well. . .I. . . .he," Angel continued his awkward stammering, "says that's the food he likes, and I," he shrugged helplessly, "just buy what he wants."
"You know for being a big, bad vampire, you're kind of a push over when it comes to your kid." Throwing the pickle jar in the wastebasket, Whistler wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"From now on, I'll try to make a point of seeing that he eats better, but being that he's half vampire, his nutritional needs are slightly different that a regular human. As you know, part of his diet is my blo. . . ."
"Spare me the particulars." Whistler interrupted quickly. "I don't need to know all the gory details of being a vampire's son. That information could make me lose my appetite, and that wouldn't be good right now because I need to keep up my strength."
"Your strength? What for?" Angel asked inquiringly. Since he had met Whistler, he had never known the demon to do anything but talk and eat. "You're not actually going into battle or something?"
"Going to LA." Whistler cast one more wistful look at the empty refrigerator. "Which, nowadays is pretty much like a battle with the crime, traffic, and smog."
"LA?" Angel was beyond curious. Whistler claimed to be a demon, who worked for certain cosmic entities responsible for maintaining the balance between good and evil in the universe. What cosmic entities was a mystery. "What's going on in LA?"
"Oh, just some business." Whistler said vaguely. "And you? Now that the Master has been ground to dust, what's on your agenda?"
"The Anointed One is now the Clan's leader." Angel answered, as he voiced the thoughts he had just been pondering. "He may be the Master's Blood-Childe, but he's young. Very young."
"So?" Whistler threw himself in a chair across from Angel.
"The Clan is weak, no Master, and its two strongest members, Luke and Darla, are dust. There is no one left to oppose me, if I went in and. . . ."
"You can't be serious!" Whistler straightened up to sit on the edge of the chair. "You think that the Clan will follow you, after you've killed Darla, and helped the Slayer bring down the Master? And what about the Slayer and her Watcher? They might reconsider their truce with you, if you become the next Master."
"Let them." Angel said with indifference.
"Let them?" Whistler's voice rose. "You're going to deliberately make enemies with the Slayer, just so you can once again be the big man? What about William?"
"If I am Master," Angel growled out, not liking that Whistler's judgmental attitude, "then William would have the protection of the Clan."
"Right now he has the protection of the Slayer." Whistler pointed out. "You'd trade that in for protection of, in your own words, a weak Clan of vampires?"
"You forget so quickly. It was the Council that murdered William's mother and held him prisoner. The Slayer and her Watcher are instruments of the Council. How trustworthy are they?"
"William is now a friend with the Slayer. They go to classes and hang out together. You can't ask him to turn against a friend? Especially him, who hasn't had many friends in his unstable life." Whistler looked at his watch. His time was short, especially if he wanted to stop and grab a hamburger before he left town. "I've got to go, but think about what I said and don't make any hasty decision. Remember William and your promise to his mother that you would allow him to live a normal human life until he becomes of age."
Angel sighed, rubbing his eyes. Whistler had brought up some good arguments. "I remember." He said quietly as Whistler grabbed his hat and went for the door. Watching the demon exit with some relief, Angel slipped back into brood mode. He was a vampire with a soul, not comfortable with his own kind, nor with humans. And making his unlife even more complicated, he had a human son, who went to High School and was friends with the Slayer.
"What happened to the good old days?" He asked himself. "When my biggest worries were where and who would be my next kill and then evading mobs and vampire hunters."
**
A dark car whose windows were blackened out came screeching to a halt just at the city limit of Sunnydale. The driver's side door opened and a slim, young man emerged.
"We're home, love." He yelled to his companion, still seated in the car. "The Hellmouth, where our Bloodline now resides." He murmured to himself, as he pulled out a cigarette. "Home, sweet home."
October 15, 1997
"So Shelia's a no-show?" Willow asked as she carefully painted in the letter C on the banner she and Buffy were working on. "I think that she goes to this really rank bar, called the something Tank."
"The Fish Tank." Spike spoke up from the next table where he and Xander were painting the welcome sign.
At his comment, both girls turned to look at him. "How do you know about the Fish Tank?" Willow looked up from her painting. "I thought you rarely went out."
"Since you took out the Master," Spike glanced over at Buffy, "the Old Boy isn't quite so strict about my comings and goings."
"So you go there?" Willow felt rebuffed. "You don't come and join us at the Bronze?"
"When I say, isn't so strict, I mean, isn't so strict for the nineteenth century." Spike returned to his work, dipping his brush into the paint jar. "Anyway I only went there once. My Sire needed, wanted. . .well, he wanted to go, and I went out of curiosity."
"So you hung out with your father at the Fish Tank?" Xander couldn't imagine hanging out with his father anywhere, especially a place like the Fish Tank." Nice father, son bonding outing."
"It was okay." Spike admitted with little enthusiasm. "I basically just sat there and watched all the women throw themselves at him. He was in the mood for some company, but I don't think he was ready for a mob of drunken women, who. . .well, you guys get the picture."
Buffy and her friends exchanged looks. Spike's world was totally alien from theirs.
"We get the picture." Xander found the whole idea of picking up women with your father a repulsive, but fascinating subject. "But why do you go to help him pick up women? Doesn't exactly sound like a fun evening. . . ." A thought suddenly struck him. "Or do you get his run off?"
"Xander!" Willow was appalled at the very idea.
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Buffy said firmly. "Talking about any of our parents' sex life is totally gross."
"He's a vampire." Spike defended Angel. "He doesn't age, so physically. . . ."
"I said, subject closed." Buffy broke in.
"The Fish Tank gets raided once in a while, don't they?" Willow quickly redirected the conversation. "Because that could make a person tardy, so maybe that's why Shelia isn't here yet."
Buffy nodded, but Shelia was the least of her worries. "Do you think you can help me cram some French tonight?" She asked Willow. "I don't want Mr. DeJean telling my mother I'm an imbecile."
"Sure." Willow was always agreeable when asked to help with schoolwork. "But I thought we were going to the Bronze tonight."
"You can help me with my French at the Bronze." Buffy said decisively. "I can study and party and do Parent-Teacher night and make my mother proud as long as I don't have to. . . ."
"Buffy." A determined looking Giles entered the lounge with the school's computer teacher, Jenny Calendar.
"Fight vampires." Buffy finished her thought with a sick feeling in her stomach. She just knew that Giles had a list of chores he wanted her to do.
Approaching the table, the two teachers were having a serious discussion."There is nothing in the chronicles about a-an extraneous lunar cycle." Giles told Jenny Calendar firmly.
"The Order never accurately calculated the Mesopotamian Calendar. Rupert, you have got to read something that was published after 1066." She retorted with some exasperation.
The four teenagers exchanged eye rolls.
"Very funny." Giles said a little huffily.
"So what's the up, guys?" Xander greeted them, halting any further discussion.
"Wel-um, Ms. Calendar has been researching, well, uh, surfing on her computer, a-and she's. . . well, according to her calculations, this Saturday is the night of St. Vigeous." Giles stated. "Now I've been doing some preliminary research on this St. Vigeous, and. . . ."
"Let me guess, he didn't make balloon animals." Buffy broke in.
"No, he led a crusade, of, of, vampires. They swept through Edessa, Harran, and points east, and they didn't leave much behind." Giles explained.
"O-kay." Buffy said with a sigh. One more thing for her to worry about. "So he's a patron saint for vampires. So I suppose they have some kind of freaky celebration on his night?"
"Well, that, that's where my knowledge becomes a little murky." Giles admitted. "I'm sure it's a big night for vampires; I'm just not sure what happens. Ah, Spike," he turned to look at the young man, "do you know anything about St. Vigeous?"
"Never heard of the twit." Spike answered, as he continued painting the welcome sign.
"Well, can you ask your Sire about it right away?" Giles put a hand out to lean on the table and then quickly pulled it back, as he realized that he had put it in wet paint.
"I'll get right on it, Rupert." Spike said with a bit of sarcasm. The school day had started; he had classes to go to, and his Sire wouldn't be up for hours yet. So he had no idea how Giles expected him to do that immediately.
"And if I survive Parent-Teacher night tomorrow, I'll see what I can do about it too." Buffy added.
"You're all being a tad flip about this." Giles frowned at the group. "This is serious."
"And getting kicked out of school is laughs aplenty?" Buffy asked. Adults could be so unreasonable.
"There's a lot of research and probably there will be a great deal of preparation needed for this Saturday." Giles was both frustrated and irritated. Teenagers could be so unreasonable.
"We'll help." Willow volunteered as she pointed first to herself and then to Xander.
"Yeah, " Xander agreed, "I'll whittle stakes.
"And I can research stuff." Willow wanted Giles to see that they were serious about St. Vigeous, but Xander quickly ruined her attempt.
"And while I'm whittling," he waved a paintbrush in the air, "I plan to whistle a jaunty tune."
Closing his eyes for a moment, Giles could only lament that the fate of the world rested in the in the hands of a young woman and her friends. "Your help will be greatly appreciated." He finally managed to acknowledge. "All right, when you," he looked at Spike, "find out anything, please let me know. And when you," he looked at Buffy, "have some time, please come and see me, that is, if the world hasn't ended."
Watching the two teachers leave, the four teenagers exchanged more eye rolls.
"I think adults go out of their way to find an excuse to have a wiggins." Buffy commented, while Giles quietly whispered to Jenny Calendar.
"Young people nowadays. They take nothing seriously."
**
The chase was always the best part, better than the kill. He could smell the girl's fear, hear her heart pounding, her blood pumping. Her eyes widened in terror, as she stared at the monster in front of her. She managed one scream, as fangs pierced her carotid artery. Her bonnet slipped to the ground, as her lifeblood was drained away.
Looking down at his Childe, Angel smiled in satisfaction. "There now, isn't that better? First kill. Aptly done."
The other vampire turned and looked up at his Sire.
Waking up suddenly, Angel sat up with a start. Instinct had him checking his surroundings, as he mumbled a name, "Penn."
October 16, 1997
"Banners, done. Punch bowl, yes." Arriving early to school, Buffy was going through her Parent-Teacher to-do list. "Vegetable platters, yes. God, I hope I haven't forgotten anything." She murmured to herself, as she spied Spike entering the lounge. "Hey." She called out. "Thanks for coming early."
"Not a problem." Spike slung his backpack down on the floor. "My Sire was restless last night, so we were up early anyway."
"Restless?" It took a moment for Buffy to change her train of thought. "Crap! Did he say we were all going to die on Saturday? Because if we are, then I might as well chuck this whole thing and get myself expelled. If I'm going to die, at least I'll die without having to suffer the torture of all of this." She waved her hand in the direction of the Parent-Teacher banners, and the bags of supplies.
"According to him," Spike sat himself down on the edge of a table,"vampires experience a surge of power on the night of St. Vigeous, so naturally it's usually a big night for killings and massacres."
"That news will have Giles' head spinning around." Xander said, as he and Willow walked up to Buffy and Spike.
"But he wasn't too worried." Spike continued. "Said that the vamps who are left in the Clan are weak, stupid fools. Even with a surge of power, they shouldn't be hard to take down."
"So Saturday shouldn't be a problem?" Buffy blew out a breath of relief.
"Well, that's what he said last night, but then this morning he seemed to be freaking out. Wouldn't tell me what was wrong either, so. . . ." Spike shrugged. "The Old Man can be a mystery at times."
"Parents." Xander commiserated. "Who can understand them?"
"Damn!" Buffy had half hoped that the news would have been conclusively bad, so she could have skipped out on her duties for the Parent-Teacher Conference. "Well, I guess I better not get myself expelled, and if I live through tonight, then we'll make our plans tomorrow for the night of St. Vigorous. Oh, by the way," she turned to Spike, "could you go to the store for me after school and pick up the vegetables and lemons for the lemonade?" Spike was the first one she asked, since he had a valid driver's license and access to a car.
"Can't." Spike yawned. Angel's restlessness had not given him a good night's sleep. "Got detention with Yardly."
"Again?" Xander said with surprise. "You had detention with him on Tuesday, and I know that because I was there with you that day."
"The man doesn't like me." Spike stated matter-of-factly. "Says I have an attitude."
"Well, your attitude has changed." Willow said meekly. "You're not the model student you were when you first got here."
"Guess I'm not the only one who has to figure out a way to keep a parent from talking to Principal Snyder, and Mr. DeJean, and. . . ." Buffy trailed off as she considered all of her teachers. "Actually I need to figure out a way to keep my mother from talking to anyone here in the school."
"That's not a worry I have." Spike said, standing up. "Whistler's out of town, and there's no way my Sire would come to Parent-Teacher conferences."
"Why not?" Xander asked.
"Because when it comes to interacting with humans, my Sire makes himself scarce. They make him uncomfortable, and besides, when it comes to school functions, how does he explain that he can't come to anything unless it's dark." Spike gave them a triumphant, see-it's-not-all-bad-being-the-son-of-a-vampire grin.
"Lucky dog." Buffy scowled with envy, while Xander had to comment.
"Why couldn't my parents be vampires?"
**
Down in a basement bedroom, a sickly woman, dressed in old-fashioned clothes was playing with her dolls. "Miss Edith speaks out of turn. She's a bad example, and will have no cakes today. Shhhh."
"Drusilla," the young man of Angel's dreams entered the room, "are you going to eat something?"
"I'm not hungry. I miss Prague."
"You nearly died in Prague. Idiot mob. This is the place for us." Penn took her hand and led her to the bed. "The Old Master is dead, and that idiot Childe of his thinks he can lead the Clan. All I need to do is gain the Clan's trust, and I can easily overthrow the Anointed One." He sneered the last two words out.
"Kill the Slayer, and the stars will align, and smile down on us." Drusilla said, her eyes glazed over.
"Drusilla!" Penn raised himself up on his elbows. "What a brilliant idea. After I rid this town of the Slayer, the Clan will be down on their knees to me, along with the last Blood-Childe of the Master." Settling back down on the bed, he closed his eyes dreamily. "If only our Sire could see me now."
**
"Okay." Buffy said to Willow as she ladled out lemonade in cups. "I completed step one, which was," she waved a hand around the decorated lounge, "all of this. Now, step two is to keep my mother and Snyder from crossing paths for the rest of the evening."
Sitting in a chair a few feet behind Buffy, Spike snorted. "Good luck to that. I'll be interested to see how you pull that one off."
Glancing up from her ladleling, Buffy noticed a tall figure, wearing a dark duster enter the lounge. "Well, Spike," she turned to give him a grin, "better take notes because look who just walked in."
"Bloody hell!" Spike jumped from his chair, just as Xander sauntered up.
"My Sire," Xander mocked in a falsetto voice, "would never dare show his face at a Parent-Teacher Conference." He watched as Angel stopped to read the banners. "Well, buddy, " he put a consoling hand on Spike's shoulder, "welcome to my world, grounded until you turn twenty one or you move out, whichever comes first."
"Your teachers were hard on you then?" Willow asked with concern.
"My ears are still ringing." Xander said, shaking his head as if to clear his ears.
"William." Angel had finally made it over to the snack table.
"Sire." Spike swallowed nervously.
"This is the after school activity you're participating in?" Angel asked with frown.
"Well, uh, yes Sire." Spike's stance was of a military posture. "I, er, was helping the Slay, Summers here with the preparations." He motioned at the table.
"I asked you specifically what school activity you were taking part in tonight, and you said nothing about it being Parent-Teacher Conferences." Angel's voice was soft, but Spike knew that only meant the explosion was coming.
"Ahem." Spike cleared his throat, thinking fast for a plausible excuse, but he didn't have to, as right then Principal Snyder walked up.
"Principal Snyder." He greeted Angel. "And who are you?" He asked suspiciously, as Angel looked too young to be a parent, but too old to be a student.
"I'm William's father." Angel stated, as he glanced over at Spike.
"Father?" Snyder was still suspicious. "You look awful young to be a. . . ."
"Had him young and good genes." Angel quickly broke in with a short, but concise explanation.
"Alright." Snyder conceded, still studying Angel. "I'm glad you came because I need to speak to you about William. He started out as a model student, but lately his behavior has deteriorated There are some teachers who are really interested in talking to you. Come, I'll take you to them."
Watching Principal Snyder lead Angel away, Xander had to comment. "I think someone's going to have a serious attitude adjustment."
"Bloody great!" Spike swore. "The big Poof decides today is the day he's going to pay a visit to my school."
"Think positive." Buffy meant to comfort Spike. "Maybe we'll all die on Sat. . . ."
"Hi everyone. Hi honey." She was interrupted by her mother's arrival. "Did you do all this?" Joyce Summers looked around the decorated lounge with admiration.
"Yeah! Um, have some lemon. . . ." Buffy broke off as she spotted Principal Snyder rounding the corner. "Why doesn't Willow show you the library? I have to stay here and hostess." She said as she nudged Willow with her elbow.
"Oh, yeah, the library." Willow quickly threw her arm around Joyce's shoulder. "Right this way." Timing was everything, as she managed to get Joyce out of the lounge just as Snyder made it to their table.
"Was that your mother?" He asked, giving Buffy his death glare.
"Oh, oh yeah." Buffy grabbed a cup and a ladle full of lemonade. Turning toward him, she faked a spill to buy herself some time. "Oh! So sorry, but yeah, I was gonna introduce you, but. . . ."
"I can catch them." Snyder interrupted. "Oh, and you." He turned to Spike. "Your father is presently having some enlightening conversations with your teachers." He smiled sadistically at the worried expressions on Buffy and Spike's faces. He loved terrifying students.
"Maybe we should run away." Buffy suggested to Spike as they watched Principal Snyder scurry off.
"I'm not the one to be running away with, love." Spike glanced around nervously, knowing that Angel would be returning some time soon. "My Sire can smell me out from miles away."
**
"So what did you find out?" Getting up off the bed, Penn was careful to not disturb a sleeping Drusilla, as he eyed the fledgling vampire he had recruited to search out the Slayer. His plan was to observe the enemy before the kill on Saturday.
"The Slayer is at the High School for Parent-Teacher Conferences." The minion had known Buffy before he had been turned, so it hadn't been hard for him to discover her whereabouts.
"Parent-Teacher Conferences?" Penn, a nearly two hundred year ago vampire, was not familiar with modern school ceremonies.
"It's a thing," the minion explained, "where the parents come and talk to the teachers about how their children are doing in school? And for some odd reason, the Slayer is there handing out lemonade and snacks."
"So let me get this straight." Penn tried to keep the excitement out of his voice. "The Slayer, her friends, and her family are all together in the High School?"
"We-ll, yeah." The minion scratched his head. He had not had much contact with old vampires, so Penn's lack of knowledge was puzzling.
Looking up at the ceiling, Penn could hear the Anointed One with his lackeys chanting away. He slowly smiled; an opportunity had just presented itself, and he wasn't going to let it pass him by.
**
The minutes had passed like hours as Spike waited anxiously, knowing that he was going to have an angry Sire to deal with, and Buffy waited anxiously, wondering if Willow had managed to dodge Principal Snyder.
"It 7:30." Buffy checked the clock for the umpteenth time. "God, we only have an hour and a half of this torture to go."
"You may have." Spike said, standing up as he spotted Angel entering the lounge. "But for me, the real torture is about to begin because my Sire is not looking too happy."
"How can you tell?" Xander craned his neck to stare at Angel. "Because I swear, every time I've seen him, he always has that same not-too-happy expression on his face."
"William." Angel stopped a few feet from the table. "Come with me." He ordered and then turned and began to walk to the exit.
"You're right." Buffy said sympathetically, as Spike walked past her. "He doesn't seem too happy." Unfortunately, she didn't have any more time to worry about Spike's situation, as just then her mother appeared.
"Well, I believe that I have seen every classroom on campus," Joyce told Buffy, "and just as I get there all your teachers miraculously have stepped out."
Willow smiled broadly over Joyce's shoulder, giving Buffy the thumbs up.
Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy saw Snyder returning to the lounge. "Oh, oh, but you haven't seen the boiler room yet. And, you know, that's really interesting, what with the boiler being in the room and all." She laughed nervously, just as Snyder reached them.
Hi. I'm Joyce Summers" Joyce stepped up to Snyder, offering him her hand. " I'm Buffy's mother."
Ignoring her hand, Snyder abruptly returned her greeting with a, "Principal Snyder. I'm afraid we need to talk. My office is down here."
"But you did such a good job." Willow protested, as she and Buffy, who had a sick expression on her face watched the two adults walk away.
**
The ride home was done in complete silence, which Spike knew was not a good sign. Arriving at the apartment, he finally broke the silence with a tentative, "Sire."
Throwing the car keys on an end table, Angel finally spoke. "From now on, I'll be taking you and picking you up from school. If there's some *legitimate* reason you have to stay after, I will be checking it out."
"You're going to drive me to school?" Spike was appalled. If Angel drove him to and from school, it meant that the top had to be up, and the windows closed, windows that were coated with black spray paint. What would the other kids think? "Forget that, I'll walk."
"Fine, then you can walk." Angel shrugged his coat off. "But boy, if you're one minute late, I'll. . . ."
Fortunately for Spike, Angel's lecture was interrupted by a pounding on the door.
"Angel! Spike!" Xander's voice could be heard through the door. "There's a problem at the school."
**
After the vampires had come crashing through the window, the people in the school had scattered like ants, frightened ants. The unlucky ones had thought to escape by running outside, but Penn had minions surrounding the school. They died quickly.
Buffy had managed to get her mother, Principal Snyder, a couple of parents, and two teachers in the science room. Barricading the doors, she hoped that it would hold long enough for her to clear the area. Climbing up into the ceiling crawl space, she made a stop in the library to get weapons, and talk with Giles. The only good news was that Xander had managed to sneak out through the stacks and was on his way to get Angel and Spike. Now back up in the ceiling, she hoped to take a few of the vamps by surprise and hold the fort until help arrived.
"Just take them one by one." She told herself, trying not think how the vampires outnumbered her.
Storming up and down the hallways, Penn was in a rage. They had had the Slayer in their sights, and then she ran off, and the idiot minions weren't sure in which direction. But he knew she was close, and so he began taunting her.
"Slaaayer." He shouted through the halls. "Here, kitty, kittyyy. If I find one of your friends first, I'm going to suck them dry, and use their bones to bash your head in. Are you getting a word picture here?"
"Penn." A vampire with a goatee pointed up at the ceiling.
Looking up, Penn heard the sounds of movement. "Someone's in the ceeiling!" He said in a singsong voice, as he looked around for some type of long weapon. Returning to the lounge where they had broken through the window, he found two metal poles. Throwing one to a minion with dark hair down to his waist, he motioned up. "You're like a rat in a cage, Slayer." He goaded her again. "No place to run, no place to hide."
**
"So what's the plan?" Xander asked, as he followed Angel and Spike to the school, stake tightly grasped in his hand.
"We go in and save the day." Angel said, as he walked purposely toward the school's main entrance.
"Good plan." Xander jogged a bit to keep close to the other two.
Pushing open the doors, Angel entered the school to the sight of two vampires poking holes in the ceiling with long, metal rods.
At the sound of doors opening, Penn turned, thinking it was minions. "Didn't I tell you to stay and guard. . .Angelus?" He gave a short laugh of disbelief, as he stared for a moment, before running to embrace his Sire. "Angelus! My God, it's been a lifetime."
"At least." Angel said, his expression deadpan, as he returned the embrace, assessing the situation.
"We were to meet in Italy, remember?"
"I remember."
"Well, I waited." Penn told him proudly, as he pointed out his obedience. "Hell, I waited until the 19th Century. What happened?"
"Got held up in Romania."
"Romania?" Penn looked puzzled. "What's in Romania?"
"Gypsies."
Still puzzled, Penn just shrugged. He knew that Angelus never had been the chatty kind. "So have you come up against the Slayer yet?"
"We've had a few encounters." Angel continued to give rather uninformative answers.
"Is that so?" Penn backed up a couple of steps. He knew something was wrong. In the past, no one, including a Slayer would have survived a few encounters with Angelus. "So exactly why are you here?" He asked even more suspiciously, as he took notice of Spike and Xander, standing a bit behind Angel.
"I came here to see what your intentions are." Angel stated, body tensing. At that moment he knew Penn would not leave Sunnydale quietly.
"My intentions." Penn gave a short laugh. "You have to ask? I'm the first Childe of Angelus, Scourge of Europe. I plan to kill the Slayer, take over the vamps here and cause havoc and mayhem. So care to join me?" One last desperate hope that Angel was still the vampire he remembered.
"No, Childe." The softly spoken words were belied by the demon in Angel emerging. "I don't plan to join you; I plan to kill you."
**
Having taken out the vamps in the hallway, Buffy was slowly making her way to the lounge. Rounding the corner, she gave a small yelp, as she ran straight into Spike and Xander.
"Lounge and main entrance are clear." Spike said, rubbing the back of his neck, where one vamp had slammed him with a fire extinguisher. "Thanks to," he motioned to Xander, who was still clutching his wooden stake, "the fearless vampire killer here."
"Hey," Xander protested, "I got a few punches in."
"A few lucky ones, and a lot of misses." Spike said with an eye roll at Xander.
"And Angel?" Buffy peered around the corner to see the lounge a complete shambles. "Man, Snyder is going to have a bird about this."
"Angel had a brawl with their leader." Xander said to explain the condition of the lounge. "The leader ran off, and Angel is just making sure that they whatever vamps are left went with him."
"Buffy!" Joyce Summers came storming up the hall with an axe in her hand. "Are you all ri. . . ."
"It's okay, mom." Buffy smiled. "They're gone."
"Oh, thank God." Dropping the axe, Joyce held out her arms to embrace Buffy.
The sounds of police sirens could suddenly be heard, as the rest of the survivors began trickling out of their hiding places.
"So," Xander said, as he and Spike walked to the main entrance, "what's with this guy calling your dad, Sire, and your dad called him Childe? He's not your brother, is he?"
**
"Bloody hell." Spike swore, as Angel lay an ice pack on the back of his neck. "I hurt all over. Probably will have to stay home from school tomorrow." He opened an eye and peeked hopefully at his Sire.
Angel didn't bother to answer, just set a glass of fruit juice in front of Spike.
"What's this?" Spike looked at the juice in shock. "I wanted a coke."
"Whistler said you should be eating healthier." Angel explained mildly.
"Oh, Whistler said." Spike grumbled. "The hot dog king complains about my eating habits. Can I at least have an aspirin?"
"You know the rules." Angel had walked out of their kitchenette over to the bed.
"I've got pain." Spike continued his complaining, as he stood up to follow Angel. "After helping take out a bunch of bad vamps, you would think I could have some. . . ." He stopped his diatribe, as he saw Angel, shirt and pants removed, sitting on the bed.
"Take your clothes off." Angel told him. "I'll take away your pain."
Cocking his head, Spike wasn't sure what his Sire was up to, but he obeyed. Taking his shirt and pants off, he sat down gingerly down on the bed.
A strong arm pulled him back, as he found himself wedged between two muscular thighs. A gentle hand massaged small circles on his swollen, black and blue neck. Then a cool tongue began licking his wounds. Closing his eyes, Spike leaned against Angel's chest, feeling his pain slide away, replaced by the sense of Sire, soothing and comforting.
**
Epilogue
October 17, 1997
"So how long are you grounded for?" Xander asked, as he, Buffy, Willow, and Spike met on the front lawn of Sunnydale before school started.
"I'm not grounded at all."Buffy said happily. "My mother said she's proud to have a daughter who can take care of herself, and who's brave and resourceful and thinks of others in a crisis. I think the whole vamp crisis last night made her forget about all the bad things Snyder said about me."
"Same thing with my Sire." Spike added. "He was threatening all sorts of things, but after the battle last night, he seemed to forget all of it. Course," he said with a grin, "I did lay it on a bit thick about how much pain I was in."
"Hmm." Buffy gave Spike a calculating look. "Maybe we should see if we can't get a group of vamps to attack the school next semester's Parent-Teacher Conference."
****
Finis